Citizens Advice has said that a £20m fine for payday loan company Cash genie is good for consumers.

The consumer charity made the comments in response to the Financial Conduct Authority fining Cash Genie for unfair business practices.  The fine will be paid to customers affected by bad practice as compensation.

Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice said:

“The FCA fine for Cash Genie is good news for consumers. It is right that customers who lost out to the company’s bad practices should get this compensation.

“For years the payday loan industry got away with treating people unfairly. New regulations on fees, charges and how firms treat customers are putting a stop to this.  There was a 53 per cent drop in the number of payday loans problems reported to Citizens Advice in April-June 2015, compared with the same time last year.

“The FCA must also keep a close watch to ensure payday lenders are sticking to the rules and that consumers aren’t harmed by other forms of high-cost credit, like guarantor and logbook loans.”

1. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local Citizens Advice, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
2. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential, and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
3. To get advice online or find your local bureau in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk
4. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers.
5. Local Citizens Advice in England and Wales advised 2.5 million clients on 6.2 million problems in 2014/15. For full service statistics see our publication Advice trends.